St. John's Wort dosage and combination question

Guarana

I am currently taking 900 mg of extract divided in three does of 300 mg. The extract is standardized to contain 0.3 % hypericin and 3.0 hyperforin. But it's causing me some bad side effects - upset stomach. How can I lower the dosage to retain the antidepressant effect but relieve my stomach? Also, how well it will mix with Ginkgo Biloba extract and what effects can I expect?

Neuro

Hi Guarana,

Does the upset stomach occur after you take a pill and how long does it last? Did you mean 0.3% hyperforin? Have you tried Perika? It's standardized to 2% hyperforin and has vitamin C added to stabilize the hyperforin.

Also, are you taking it after a meal or on an empty stomach? Ginkgo is actually weak and may or may not give you any noticeable effects. It's primarily a norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor so if it works you can expect an increase in energy, focus, motivation, and possibly mood. However, hyperforin is also norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor and a serotonin, dopamine, and GABA reuptake inhibitor. So SJW would most likely cancel out any effects that ginkgo may have.

Galaxyshock

St. John's Wort is known to increase irritable bowel symptoms compared to placebo. How long have you been taking it? Maybe it dissipates in time, I think it did for me. Perhaps you could take some loperamide to ease the symptom since it's peripheral opioid.